A twenty-five-year-old woman from Tampa, Florida, died early Monday morning after driving the wrong-way on Interstate 75 and hitting a truck, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The woman was reportedly driving a 2012 Nissan headed north in the southbound lanes near Dade City, Florida. The driver saw the vehicle headed the wrong way and attempted to avoid a collision by moving to the outside lane, FHP said.
However, the wrong-way vehicle collided with the left side of the truck, travelled across the roadway and crashed into the meridian’s concrete wall. The truck came to a controlled stop, investigators said.
The woman was airlifted to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point but died shortly after at 6:13 a.m. The woman’s name has not been released.
The truck driver, Slawomir Plonski, 42, of Port St. Lucie, was not injured. His truck was hauling food and beverage products, troopers said.
This marked the fifth fatal wrong-way crash in the region since February, with four on Interstate 275 alone in the same area north of downtown Tampa. Ten people have died in those accidents.
Investigators are awaiting a toxicology report on the woman, which usually takes up to eight weeks, but suspect alcohol may have been involved in the crash.
Southbound traffic on Interstate 75 was diverted at Exit 293 at the time of the accident. Troopers say the outside lane opened shortly after 7 a.m.
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